MUMBAI: Central Railway (CR) officials last week stumbled upon 12 to 15 ‘secret’ files in a room at the CSMT headquarters. Dating back to the late 1920s and early 1930s, the files were in a surprisingly intact condition, without any damage done by termites or other elements.
The vault was apparently built to securely store daily cash collections overnight, which were brought in from various ticket counters across the railway network.
The files were found scattered in a room on the ground floor of the heritage building, which was near the recently restored 19th-century basement vault beneath the CSMT headquarters, according to the officials.
As mileage measurements fall under the jurisdiction of that officer,” says the letter signed by ‘Ag Chief Transportation Superintendent. Many of the files seen by HT were made of hard cardboard, with GIPR (Great Indian Peninsula Railway) written on them. “These also contain information about the general administration, rail strike, and movement of the army during war. Its subject line was ‘Guarding of (rail) line by the Police’. A page with ‘Confidential’ written on it was stuck to this page. “The pages have turned brown but the ink on them is still legible and has been found to be resistant to fading. We are handling these files, most of which have ‘Top Secret’ or ‘Confidential’ written on them, very carefully. Cautious as ever, the government employees are uncertain whether these still come under the Official Secrets Act and have no clarity on whether they should be made public.
Sources said that most, marked ‘Confidential’ or ‘Top Secret’, were from the security, traffic, construction and engineering departments, and back in the British era, came under the Official Secrets Act of 1923. Among the non-confidential files was one with a handwritten cursive noting by the chief engineer’s office dated 1931 that said ‘File Closed’. Another one was dated August 21, 1931 in Bombay district. Addressed to the District Superintendent of Police, Kolaba, it mentions a letter dated August 19, 1931 written by the Chief Engineer of GIPR: “I have forwarded the letter…
“They are about providing police protection, sending railway staff and workers to assist the army, internal conflicts, political rebellions, and the Indian freedom struggle,” said an official. “The files were intact,” said a CR official.
